Fiesta To Be Life Of Small-car Party

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday December 13, 2008

Jaedene Hudson

FORD has a lot riding on its all-new Fiesta city car, which goes on sale next month.

With buyers leaving large cars in droves, local makers are relying heavily on their small cars to prop up their sales figures.

The Fiesta has been a consistent seller for Ford but at 5874 sales (to the end of November), Fiesta numbers are a quarter of the class leader, the Toyota Yaris, which has sold 23,917. The Fiesta is seventh in the class.

The all-new Fiesta, however, comes with a bold new look, more equipment and a tweaked model line-up. There are three and five-door body styles and three equipment levels: CL, LX and Zetec.

The range starts from $15,750 for the new three-door CL model, $18,490 for the LX and $20,250 for the Zetec. The Ghia model has been discontinued.

There are two four-cylinder engine choices - a 1.6-litre with a five-speed manual gearbox or an optional four-speed automatic transmission ($1500) matched to the 1.4.

The 1.6 has 88kW of power and 152Nm of torque. Average fuel economy is 6.1 litres/100km and carbon dioxide emissions are 143g/km. The 1.4 has 71kW of power and 128Nm of torque. It is thirstier than the 1.6 with an average consumption of 6.9L/100km. Emissions are 164g/km.

Standard safety equipment on the CL and LX models includes anti-lock brakes, two airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height-adjustable head restraints and automatic hazard-light activation following emergency braking. Side and curtain airbags and stability control and a driver's knee airbag (CL and LX) are part of a $1000 safety pack on all models.

Equipment on the CL includes 15-inch wheels, air-conditioning, centre console, storage area and MP3 player tray, power front windows with driver one-touch up-down, height and reach-adjustable steering column, power steering, manual driver's seat height adjust, cloth trim, 60-40 split-fold rear seats, single CD with MP3 capability and steering-wheel-mounted audio, auxiliary audio and a luggage capacity of 281 litres.

LX models gain cruise control, rear power windows, three-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel, leather gear knob, a trip computer, Bluetooth and USB input.

The sporty Zetec versions add a driver's knee airbag, sports cloth trim, 16-inch alloy wheels and sports body kit.

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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